Minor royal and former rugby player Mike Tindall was criticised this week when his daughter was spotted wearing an Apple AirTag, a £35 digital disc that can be tracked from a phone. This was apparently an invasion of his 10-year-old’s privacy (nevermind the fact the photo that revealed his daughter’s accessory was taken by a press photographer).
I have over 15 people on Find My Friends, including my parents
I really don’t see what the fuss is about. Plenty of people happily sign up to allow their friends and family to track them in real time. There is Snapchat Maps, WhatsApp location, Life360, Google Family Link and GeoZilla – the list goes on. Microchips, like the one attached to the 10-year-old Tindall’s denim shorts, are for the seriously committed. Personally, I favour Find My Friends, which works just fine from my iPhone, without the need for battery-powered extras. I have around 15 people on FMF, including my parents.
I was the one who suggested it to my family, and despite the horror of critics, I won’t be turning it off. Having my phone’s location data logged online has saved me thousands of pounds. I’ve traced my phone back to tube benches, fitting rooms, bars, the back of my sofa and many more imaginative places. I’ve also saved my friends thousands doing the same.
Parents worry all the time about their kids morphing into bedroom-dwelling weirdos, buried within their screens. Well, nothing prompts in-person meetups more easily than knowing where someone is at all times of the day. There are countless times when I’ve caught up with a friend because I’ve found myself in town with a bit of time to kill. A quick peruse of Find my Friends and there’s bound to be someone around.
Mary Wakefield wrote about her horror of being tracked: ‘If I dawdle on the way home from work, or divert into Waitrose to fondle the £3 avocados, my husband, spotting my location, can (and often does) text: “How come you left work so late? Can you pick up some wine while you’re in there?”.’ I think: how handy! Will the husband not ask the same question when you get home?
Then, of course, there’s the safety element. Call me crazy, but I feel a sense of comfort knowing that the people I care for know my whereabouts. What if I’m snatched up by someone? Many respond to that by saying that abuse is, more often than not, carried out by people in your closest circle. Well, yes, but there isn’t an app for that (yet).
There is, of course, a whole etiquette to online tracking. A good friend knows not to snoop all the time, or at least not tell you that they do. For Instagram users, it is always strange catching up with friends, knowing every meal they had on holiday as the whole trip was documented. As much as I like the people I have on Find My Friends, I am not interested in what they do day-to-day. It’s to be used on a need to know basis. And there may be a time when you do need to go off grid. It can be a little embarrassing when it goes wrong. I once created a setting where I’d be notified when a difficult housemate was a mile from home. Unknowingly, they were also notified. But the good has always outweighed the bad, and life is all about opportunity costs.
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